SOMATIC PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN FAMILY-RITUAL FOLKLORE: RITUAL AND SEMANTICS

Abstract

This article comprehensively examines the semantic and functional nature of somatic phraseology in Kazakh family-ritual folklore. The study focuses on the use of set phrases based on the names of human body parts in lullabies, wedding ceremonies, and funeral and mourning folklore. Since family-ritual folklore is closely linked to traditional rites that regulate a person's life, somatic phraseology serves as a linguistic tool reflecting not only personal emotions but also a psychological state shared by collective consciousness, social relations, and notions of fate. The study revealed that somatic symbols (ear, head, rib, heart, hand, eye, eyelid, forehead) carry different semantic loads depending on the family and ritual context. In lullaby folklore, somatic phraseological units of the heart and eye express initial emotional states, such as joy, kindness, and anxiety associated with the beginning of life, while in wedding folklore, somatic phraseological units of the hand, eyelid, ear, head, and forehead confirm the transition of social status, hierarchy, order, and responsibility. In mourning and funeral folklore, somatic phraseological units of the eye, heart, rib, head, and forehead reflect the profound psychological nature of grief, the irreversibility of fate, and spiritual turmoil. This article demonstrates that the meaning of somatic phraseology changes depending on the ritual situation, and a single phraseological unit can perform various emotional and symbolic functions. This phenomenon is analyzed in relation to the theory of transitional rites proposed by A. van Gennep. Accordingly, somatic phraseology serves as a semiotic mechanism denoting the boundary stages of the life cycle (birth - adulthood/marriage - death) in family-ritual folklore. The results of the study demonstrate that somatic phraseology is an important linguistic representative of the national worldview in Kazakh family-ritual folklore.